ARL/DLF Fellowships for Underrepresented Groups

RATIONALE

In 2010, the Digital Library Federation made a positive change and commitment to being an open organization, welcoming members from all aspects of the digital library community, soliciting contributions to the annual Forum from members and non members alike, and making every effort to connect conversations that extend beyond our organizational borders. Our community grew as a result and our Forums were enriched with new voices and perspectives that yielded a more dynamic and exciting event. The Forum, although technical in nature, is fairly gender-balanced. We have limited representation from a number of communities, however, and we seek to increase participant diversity. To this end, we are continuing to offer the ARL/DLF Forum Fellowships for Underrepresented Groups, which were established in 2013.

DLF is committed to having an inclusive environment at the Forum and throughout our program activities. In 2013 we established a Code of Conduct for the annual Forum, as well as other DLF organized events.

THE AWARD

Up to four fellowships will be awarded, up to $1,250 each, to be applied towards travel, board, and lodging expenses associated with attending a DLF Forum. Additionally, the fellows will each receive a complimentary full registration to the Forum ($475). Fellowship recipients will be required to write a blog post about their experience subsequent to the Forum; this blog post will be published by DLF.

ELIGIBILITY

Preferred applicants come from or be nominated by a current DLF member institution. In the spirit of inclusiveness we will also consider applicants without a member nomination if they identify their institution as one of the following:

Community colleges

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)

Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU)

State, local, or regional tribal governments

To qualify for this fellowship, an applicant must be interested in actively contributing to the DLF Forum and must be a member of a traditionally underrepresented group including, but not limited to, people of Hispanic or Latino, Black or African-American, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or American Indian or Alaskan Native descent. Only one fellowship per institution will be granted.

APPLICATION

Send an email by July 1417, 4 pm EDT, containing one document with the following items to lkwasigroch@clir.org, with the subject “UG Fellowship: [Name]“:

Cover letter of nomination from someone at a DLF member institution OR for those from a community college, HBCU, TCU, or tribal government, a letter of nomination from their supervisor, dean, or appropriate organizational leader.

Personal statement from the candidate (ca. 500 words) explaining their digital library involvement, how they see themselves benefiting from/participating in the DLF Forum, indication of eligibility, and statement of need.

A current résumé.

EVALUATION

Fellows will be selected by the Forum Program Planning Committee. In assessing the applications, the Committee will look for: